Every season come the time for guku season, the Yolngu here whether from Yirrkala or all over Arnhem land) they know it it guku time when we see the flowers of the stringybark starting to bud then people men or women they get ready to get their rupa (billycan) ga axe and ask any families to go out into the bush to look for the guku.

Yolngu people know by seeing the bees flying around and going in and out of the ngurru (nose) whether is Dhuwa or Yirrijta guku. When people find guku they tell each other that this tree has guku in the tree and get ready to cut it down to harvest the guku. People are happy because they can cut to get the guku out. They eat it and feel happy as they go home. This is a good time for hunting – guku time.

Yolngu people have old songs dances about guku and also make new songs.

Text courtesy of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka

PLEASE NOTE: These editions were printed onsite in Yirrkala, and as a result certain anomalies in the paper can be expected–such as registration marks as shown in the image above. Registration marks are used to line up a screenprint or etching design so each layer corresponds with the one before it. You can also see that the artist has amended a mistake on the top of each print where they have accidentally signed the print upside-down. These idiosyncrasies and human moments tell a story and are part of the great charm of these works.